Democrats criticize USPS consolidation plans

USPS said on Thursday that it could close at least 223 processing centers as part of its push to cut $20 billion in annual costs by 2015.

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The agency, which also has shown an interest in closing up to 3,700 local post offices, also acknowledges that its push to downsize will essentially end next-day delivery of first-class mail in many cases.

But the Postal Service also says that, with mail volume plummeting, it is doing what it can to stay afloat. USPS also wants to end Saturday delivery and has said that it could run out of money this year if Congress doesn’t act on reform legislation.

“What we are doing is adjusting our operational realities to the current market,” David Williams, the agency’s vice president for network operations, said late last year.

Under the consolidation plan outlined Thursday, no processing centers would be closed before May 15, as part of an agreement USPS made with lawmakers in December.

David Partenheimer, a spokesman for the Postal Service, also told The Hill that the decisions on closures were not yet final. The American Postal Workers Union has noted that the Postal Regulatory Commission has also yet to release its advisory opinion on the changes.

In all, the closing of the processing centers would eliminate as many as 35,000 positions, though a Partenheimer said that attrition would account for most of the job losses.

Postal employees affected by the consolidations would also be able to apply for jobs elsewhere in the agency.

The Postal Service is also still examining whether to close six more processing centers, and has decided not to shutter 35 others, at least for the time being.

On Thursday, top Republican lawmakers working on a postal overhaul praised USPS for taking the next step in closing the processing centers and urged the agency to stay the course.

“If USPS leadership actually goes through with a realignment, instead of caving to political pressure again, it will be an acknowledgment that no budget gimmick is going to restore the Postal Service to solvency.”

For their part, Democrats on Capitol Hill alternately praised USPS for saving processing centers in their backyard and bashed the agency for moving forward with consolidation plans.

“The loss of the Reno mail processing plant would have been devastating to Northern Nevada,” Reid said in a statement. “I am pleased that we were able to protect Nevada jobs and ensure that Nevadans continue to receive their mail in a timely manner.”